Amandla Stenberg Opens Up About Using They/Them Gender Pronouns

"I’m allowed to explore myself."

Amandla Stenberg has always been open about their gender identity. On Thursday, the 17-year-old opened up to fans on Tumblr who asked what pronouns they use. Amandla identifies as nonbinary, which means they don't identify as a boy or a girl. When a fan asked about their preferred pronouns, they said, "They/them makes me feel comfortable."

The next thing you know, Amandla's fans are changing their Wikipedia page pronouns from she/her to they/them. But according to Amandla, that's not so good for their job, explaining that "it will probably throw off potential employers and producers who want to hire me for movies."

And of course, when you're as badass as Amandla, you're bound to get some trolls trying to bring you down. At one point, an anonymous Tumblr user told them, "maybe you could focus on actual problems." Let's just say Amandla shut them down real quick.

"I’m allowed to explore myself and how I see myself in the world however the f*** I want," they responded gloriously.

The truth is, Amandla is focusing on actual problems. An important thing to understand is that, while the concept of nonbinary gender isn't new, the language surrounding gender hasn't always been around, and we are still developing terminology (that's why things change in the LGBTQ world so often.) It's easy to criticize something you don't understand, but you can understand it if you just put in some time and effort — think of gender as a language you have to learn to be fluent in. Like with any language, all it takes is practice.

We applaud Amandla for being so public about how they are exploring their identity, and we hope it encourages others to pursue their true selves. Remember that if you're ever unsure about what pronouns someone uses (never assume), take a hint from Amandla's fan and ask them. It's as simple as five words: "what pronouns do you use?"